Devotional Prints from Germany and the Netherlands, an exhibition highlighting prints of religious subject matter, is on view at the Georgia Museum of Art through March 16.
This exhibition brings together more than 60 religious-themed prints from the 15th through the 20th centuries. It draws from the museum’s collection of European works on paper, one of the biggest in the South. Among the featured artists are Max Beckman, Pieter Bruegel, Otto Dix, Albrecht Dürer, Hendrick Goltzius, Rembrandt van Rijn and Martin Schongauer.
While devotional prints served as substitutes for the written word for those who lacked basic literacy skills, they also provided easily accessible commentary on figures and stories from religious texts. The prints were relatively inexpensive to produce, were circulated widely and offered the viewer the ability to reflect on or discuss a variety of sacred topics.
Some prints combine image and text to enrich the viewing experience, while others reproduce larger or popular works of art. In certain cases, religious subjects serve as pretexts for the use of other motifs, including detailed landscapes.
